The invention herein finds particular application in the production and packaging of paperback books, which are printed and bound in such quantities that counting of the individual books is extremely difficult. Books are delivered from the trimmer and edge coater in a solid log at extremely high speeds, and separation of the books for individual sensing and counting is not easily achieved.
The invention herein is directed to the counting of the books by measurement while a load is placed on a stack thereof. Since the books in a stack are resilient there is a stress-strain relationship whereby a constant number may be picked from a stack thereof undergoing a predetermined load.